Reflection on my learning in AEP

a) What are the most valuable things you learned about the process of preparing and delivering presentations? (2 or more)

There are two things that I think is the most valuable in the process of preparing. One is that rehearsals are essential in preparing a presentation. I learned that in order to speak with confidence, I must understand my topic and that the memorizing the script would help a lot. Second is how to makes the slides for a presentation. Thanks to the handout Mark gave us (from "Presentation Zen"), I learned how to make the slides simple, how to organize them, and what kind of visuals are recommended to use. Moreover, there are mainly two things that I think is the most valuable in the process of delivering. One is to know what you are saying while presenting. Although I might be memorizing the script, if I did not understand the content, I could not talk with confidence nor make it persuasive. Therefore, I learned that knowing your topic/theme is one of the most important thing in delivering presentations. Second, is the body language. I learned that eye contact (looking at the audience, not just peeking) makes the presentation persuasive and it shows that you are confident. I also learned that all body language (such as eye contact, postures, gestures, and use of voice) connects to the impression the audience get.


b) In what presentation skill areas do you feel you have made progress or improved your awareness? (2 or more)

I think that I have made progress in especially 3 areas of presentation skills. First is the process of making the presentation. I think I got so much better in making the slides, choosing effective visuals and simplifying the content. As I said before, the handout from the "Presentation Zen" helped me a lot to improve. Second, is giving conclusion. At first, I did not know how to wrap up a presentation, but after I learned how to preview and give emphasis, I could follow that step and I got better in giving (or making) conclusion. Third is the body language. In the beginning, I tended to cross my leg a lot and moved a lot due to the nervousness. However, after analyzing my weakness in body language by watching the video, I focused on not giving unnecessary movements and tried to give a good posture. After giving 3 presentations, I got better in the body language.


c) What points do you want to improve further in your future presentations? How can you improve those? (2 or more)

There are mainly 3 points that I want to improve further in my future presentations. One is the preparation skills, such as memorizing the script more and doing more rehearsals. To improve this, I must put more time for preparation and make time to memorize the script. However, not only memorizing but also understanding the concept is important so I would like to think about the content and theme more. Second, is getting used to academic presentations. By giving first 2 presentations, which were about topics that I liked (non-academic), helped me to get used to give presentations in front of people. However, after I gave the last presentation, which was academic, I noticed that academic presentation and non-academic presentation was very different. Therefore, I thought I needed to get used to give academic presentation. In order to achieve this, I think I just have to do more academic presentations or choosing academic topic for presentations when I have the chance to. Third, is the posture. My mother (who was watching the video of my presentation at home with me) told me that I am a little stoop-shouldered. Therefore, I want to stand in a right posture with my back up straight. To achieve this, I think I must be careful about my posture in the everyday life and be careful of it.